Delayed Upwelling Alters Nearshore Coastal Ocean Ecosystems in the Northern California Current

Wind-driven coastal ocean upwelling supplies nutrients to the euphotic zone near the coast. Nutrients fuel the growth of phytoplankton, the base of a very productive coastal marine ecosystem [Pauly D, Christensen V (1995) Nature 374:255-257]. Because nutrient supply and phytoplankton biomass in shel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2007-03, Vol.104 (10), p.3719-3724
Main Authors: Barth, John A., Menge, Bruce A., Lubchenco, Jane, Chan, Francis, Bane, John M., Kirincich, Anthony R., McManus, Margaret A., Nielsen, Karina J., Pierce, Stephen D., Washburn, Libe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological Sciences
Biomass
Buoys
California
Carbon - metabolism
Chlorophyll - chemistry
Coasts
Ecology
Ecosystem
Food Chain
Larvae
Marine
Marine Biology - methods
Marine ecology
Marine ecosystems
Mussels
Mytilus
Nutrients
Ocean currents
Oceans
Oceans and Seas
Oregon
Physical Sciences
Phytoplankton
Plankton
Seasons
Surface water
Temperature
Thoracica
Upwelling water
Wind
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Summary:Wind-driven coastal ocean upwelling supplies nutrients to the euphotic zone near the coast. Nutrients fuel the growth of phytoplankton, the base of a very productive coastal marine ecosystem [Pauly D, Christensen V (1995) Nature 374:255-257]. Because nutrient supply and phytoplankton biomass in shelf waters are highly sensitive to variation in upwelling-driven circulation, shifts in the timing and strength of upwelling may alter basic nutrient and carbon fluxes through marine food webs. We show how a 1-month delay in the 2005 spring transition to upwelling-favorable wind stress in the northern California Current Large Marine Ecosystem resulted in numerous anomalies: warm water, low nutrient levels, low primary productivity, and an unprecedented low recruitment of rocky intertidal organisms. The delay was associated with 20- to 40-day wind oscillations accompanying a southward shift of the jet stream. Early in the upwelling season (May-July) off Oregon, the cumulative upwelling-favorable wind stress was the lowest in 20 years, nearshore surface waters averaged 2°C warmer than normal, surf-zone chlorophyll-a and nutrients were 50% and 30% less than normal, respectively, and densities of recruits of mussels and barnacles were reduced by 83% and 66%, respectively. Delayed early-season upwelling and stronger late-season upwelling are consistent with predictions of the influence of global warming on coastal upwelling regions.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0700462104